Seems like this would have been much easier if you used plain old caffeine pills at the denominations you wanted to work thru, easier to measure (split the tablets) and also removes the other pleasurable aspects like flavor of the coffee and pleasing aromas—those kind of subjective cues that compound the preference and addiction

Isnt what you're doing now basically—what it would be called for almost any other drug—"kindling" or something?

Possible, yeah. I still wanted to drink coffee, though - decaf. I enjoy it. So, went the long route.